Month: January 2018

Depending on how busy your lifestyle is becoming, you DO indeed have options.

Even the gets caught up in life every one in a while, and I become the busy person that I never cared to be.

People get sick, bills stack up for a lil while till you can pay them down or off. Work hours increase with responsibility sometimes being more laid on you.

Last year I started doing my own little experiment of getting a head start on my growing season by starting those little buggers inside the house! Making the good home purchase that I did (no gloat but gloat) I ended up with exactly what I wanted- plenty of room!

Rooms to be exact and a basement to match. Within that basement came the perfect space and outlets needed to do something I had thought about for years. Growing plants indoors.

For me, this didn’t work out exactly the way I wanted. If I could have controlled the humidity a bit more (increased constantly) then I might have had a chance to do more with it. However, in the end, it became an awesome starter room for all my plants.

Here’s the problem… If I was starving, a few seeds aint gonna put dinner on the table. And no big offense to Wal-Mart, but while I am there it becomes increasingly harder to check out what companies are carrying what. Local groceries fall under the same heading as a problem for me.

Not to be captain activist or anything, but I like to know where my products come from. If I am in a bigger store, I have to jump on my phone, google the brand, see what they are about and if that’s something I would enjoy.

I’m picky and hypocritical about my foods at times, but I am who I am. I like choices and I like information. I like options!

Most importantly, I like the time to be able to investigate the company I purchase from. I have two temporary solutions to my problems at this time. I have a local grocer and 3 stands that I pass (depending on season) that receive verifiable and awesome tasting foods: meats, veggies, and fruits.

Other than going to every single one of their farms, I am able to get some fine report on these individuals.

When it comes to a bigger choice, and something that can actually be brought to you in the situations I mentioned above about being busy… There are Wal-Marts that allow you the choice to look online and build your cart (as well as check the brands), and one that I’ve been interested in lately, AmazonFresh.

After going through the reviews, I’m not dissatisfied with the service. But before I push anything your way, let’s consider what will make it worth it to YOU (the awesome reader).

Do you already use Amazon services?

2. Do you order enough to make it worth your while for the free delivery?

3. Not every brand you want will be there, is that okay?

4. Food will be showing up at your doorstep, will it be safe?

5. Are you ready to get rid of the garbage that comes with every order (cardboard, bags, etc)?

For me, #1 is fine. Prime is right up my alley. #2 I feed me, my wife, and family members and cook in large amounts to store at a time. Plus, it isn’t just food they deliver. #3 I can settle, for the most part. #4 Camera system, dogs, guns, and living in the country, should be fine. #5 I like near 3 county dumps/landfills on my way to and from work, so this isn’t a problem.

Well, sounds like I have myself sold at least. There are conveniences and inconveniences with every product you buy in life. It is best to weigh your options with any purchase.

If you are picky, BE PICKY! If you aren’t, then you have just that many more options. Take advantage of what benefits you and your limited time.

Hot water valves and cold water valves sometimes get stuck! They seize and refuse to turn with hand pressure. That’s where the tools come in…
Here’s a basic set that I consider super handy to always keep around.

What I used in this video was actually a bit much. We could have used a plumbing pipe wrench for the valve itself, however the pipe wrench was right on hand!
Because some pipes are in older pvc/cpvc and you don’t know how well the original job was completed, it is a good idea to have either a second person hold the pipe still while your wrench –
or just use an adjustable/lockable set of pliers to hold it still.
Some pipes have a lot of play. We don’t need any incidents!

-for safety purposes you may want to turn the supply line off.
-clean hands afterwards. Those valves have moisture and whatever else embedded all over.
-don’t touch your eyes.
-gloves can give you a big-time advantage on those initial turns.

1. attempt to turn by hand
2. if it had any play, begin to turn left and back to right
3. don’t over torque these parts, work them over time
4. apply tool and adjust to fit around valve handle grip piece
5. have helper or use pliers to keep a grip on metal of valve below -NOT THE PVC LINE (these can crack easily)
6. see if you can make the valve turn left or counter clockwise

*if valve cracks, pipe cracks, and you begin experiencing water leakage, stop immediately. This is why you may want to turn off water flow to said pipe.
These waters are from your water heater. Don’t screw round with scalding hot water!

7. if not apply more pressure, turning left or counterclockwise
8. once you begin to receive any ‘give’ , start turning left to right for 30 seconds. Don’t rush this until you know what you are doing.
9. eventually the turns will break loose the seized valve and allow a full turn.
10. back to the hand tightening/loosening process. Give it a spin!
11. turn valve one full cycle. You may hear water fill the house leading to device. (clothes washer in this case)
12. if using a clothes washer, test a hot/hot cycle and see what is produced

Vitamin packed and so easy to grow, that if you fail at this… nope, na! You can’t, just trust me.

Scroll down to the bottom to watch a quick video on how to get these going.

Lentil sprouts are nutritious and worth while to grow for your animals. As I never eat the things, I will not just randomly recommend them for humans, but I hear good things other than the nutrition side.

You see, like a basic straight-up pinto bean, we can’t just throw one in our mouth, chew without expecting some problems, and then reap a ton of nutritional benefits. We have to cook or sprout these veggies to even enjoy them.

Just like drinking egg yolks provides you with so much less protein than cooked eggs: same goes for lentils.

Your body spends so much time and calories working on digesting this food, that in the end, you will end up passing the foods through your digestive track and they’ll be mostly undigested.

Besides the jars, you’ll need some kind of mesh-like material. I have used old potato sacks, holes made in plastic lids, and lately marble nets? Yep, I keep it cheap.

Warning: Do Not Over Fill These Jars!

Start the first time with three table spoons full of lentils.

1: Put lentils in jar

2: Fill with water, about half of jar.

3: Let them sit for about 24 hours

4: Cover with mesh material

5: Use the ring and lock down the mesh material (store lid wherever you want)

6: Pour out old water

7: Rinse once more and place on a strainer. No sun required

8: Wait 12 hours and then rinse, repeat step 7

Do this for about 4-5 days. Every single day, you’ll see the tails get longer and longer. I don’t recommend going much further than that, because the tails start wrapping around each other and by this time, you’ve gotten the nutrients unlocked and multiplied for your needs.

Now, it is up to you. Feed these directly to your chickens or store them. Either way, you now have an awesome way to sprout lentils. After that? Start ding multiples. That way you’ll end up with plenty of jars in different stages of growth to feed to your animals and will never run out of supply.

This isn’t a main source of food, but it is a much more natural way to feed the chickens between whatever you buy them, scraps, and grazing.

Winter isn’t finished yet! And all Game of Thrones jokes aside… Here’s a reminder of tasks to complete before you decide to sell or stay. Heck, a lot of these are simply good, all-around homeowner DIYs that help us maintain our safe haven we call home.
1: Clean your gutters. After all those leaves have fallen and collected, clean that out before snow or ice builds atop adding weight and sometimes allowing water to stay against water resistant(not waterproof) material.
2: Dryer vents!

Go to local hardware store or check this link here and get it shipped today! http://amzn.to/2DJA3NM and grab yourself a cheap attachment for your drill and knock that moisture-trapped lint out! Hot air and dryer lint and distance of dryer vent equals a house fire if you’re not careful.

Safety tip: keep one of these around at all times. Hey, be generous and leave one behind if you decide to sell your home. You could save a life. http://amzn.to/2Eid9hC

3: Try to take pictures of your house before and during Winter.

That way your future buyer can see how this place will look in dreary winter or awesome summer. Big difference, right?

4: Force yourself to mow one more time, and get those leaves way from your home.

Hard for potential buyers to imagine a lush green scape with crunchy brown foliage under foot. I’m for natural fertilizers(naturally occurring fertilizers from nature, like leaves), however, it can take away from one you are trying to totally display to your customer. They make handy collection bags for this. Take advantage ASAP http://amzn.to/2DY5irV

5: Replace your outside lights

. It makes it one more level of difficulty on your realtor to sell your home in the dark as it kinda gets darker earlier

Make it look like a home, not a spaceship. So check out the lights before your purchase a savings pack. http://amzn.to/2DRQPxJ

Alright, good luck!
Have a great day – night… Whatever it is now. We can’t tell! It’s winterrrrr….. btw take your melatonin and vitamin D!